Report: Italy probes possible PM plot
MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -- Italian police are investigating a possible plot against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after phone taps of suspected Islamic extremists suggested they might be planning an attack, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Security has been stepped up around Berlusconi and his family while police investigate the two Somali men whose conversation was overheard, Corriere della Sera said, without identifying its sources.
The department of public security and the prime minister's office declined to comment.
Italy has been on high alert since last month when 19 Italians were killed by suicide bombers at a military police base in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya. Security was further beefed up ahead of Christmas.
According to the article on Tuesday, the two Somalis were already under surveillance and their telephones tapped as part of ongoing investigations of suspected Islamic extremists when police overheard references to an attack on Berlusconi.
The conversation was not detailed by the newspaper, which said it was not clear if the Somalis were talking about a definite plan to attack Berlusconi, their desire to attack him or just generally aggressive remarks about him.
Italy has arrested 71 people in 2003 on suspicion of links to "terrorist" organizations. It has also deported seven people the government considered a threat to public safety.
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